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Seek and Destroy

Pointing machinery at the scenery™

Monday Mourne to Sunday Morn

It’s been a busy week. Me and Joycee spent most of it in County Down enjoying four seasons of weather on some of the finest hills I’ve walked. The Mountains of Mourne have made quite an impression on us, as have the fine folks we met there. The routes, the best photies and more from the Northern Ireland trip will be in the March issue of Trail.

As soon as we got of the plane I was pulling on steelies to go and wrestle pipework with a quick visit to the physio in the middle of it “Have you been lifting heavy weights?” she says as I look guilty. It’s a rotator cuff tear apparently. Sounds like something they’d pull you for on an MOT that would cost £300 to fix and they’d spot something else while they were under there. Bastards.
Anyway, if I behave it’ll get better. Don’t lift things, FFS.

We finished at 2100, I got home to watch Doctor Who on the V+ Box and belatedly shared the dewy eyed moment with all the other blokes my age when Tom Baker came on at the end.
I loved the 50th anniversary special with all its little faults and it’ll take repeated watching to spot all the references, but I think they did the show proud and John Hurt was excellent. What a Doctor he would be.

This morning was grey and thick and I knew there was an inversion out there ready to be viewed from above. Breakfast and well earned lethargy took an easy win over an early exit, but it didn’t last forever. It was just a wee bit later that planned when we left.

Thought I’d pop in again, a nice wee taster there. There seemed to be a few settled days when you were over, the pictures so far seem to capture that.
I look forward to the March Trail magazine to read a bit more. There will no doubt be plenty more going on here to keep me entertained until then.

Hi Petesy, been meaning to post this for a long time now, but life keeps getting in the way. Really just to say thanks for the inspiration – based in NI, I started reading your blog about 3 years ago and many mini adventures have been stoked by it. Thanks to you I’ve dared to camp on top of Mournes (in a rattly lasercomp), and woken to extraordinary sunrises, dared to set off for a summit at midnight (with headtorch and trailshoes), and dared to think hard about what I carry and why. Not a big deal really, but still unconventional enough that some people think I’m mad. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration, humour and insights – without your blog I too might have thought these things were crazy but now I’m firmly of the view that it’s crazy not to when such beauty and joy is within reach, after a bit of snot and gasping. Since I first started to read your blog I’ve had a son and will soon be introducing him to the joys of camping and the great outdoors, so maybe one day he’ll have you to thank too, and who knows, maybe his children one day too. Anyway, just a little encouragement to keep up the writing and to let you know that what you do here has changed my life for the better, and maybe those of many more. All the best to you and the girls, Conor

In recent times with so many other stresses and distractions I’ve found it ever harder to get away and lose myself in the mountains like I’ve been used to over the years.
But you know what, your words above have just spelled out to me exactly why I do it, why I love it and what I miss when I take the time to think about it.
The sunrises, feet one after the other to a summit you know is going to be yours and yours alone, nights in a tent with just the stars for company and building pages of memories to flick through years later when the knees have gone.

To think that something I’ve done has inspired someone is beyond my powers to explain how it feels, but to see your joy at what you’ve found out there is like the sun breaking the horizon from that high camp that I’ve missed so much.

You’ve just brought it all back to me. So, it’s me me that has to say thanks to you.